Would You Choose Gray or White Kitchen Cabinets?

24.4.13

I have kitchens on the brain. Last week I mentioned that I’m leaning towards blues, greens and grays to incorporate into the space. I’m loving the idea of gray cabinets. But what gray to choose and then there’s always the classic white cabinet I hear calling my name. Who knows I may even change my mind on that. Ahhh so many great choices I can’t pick!

With the possibility of remodeling our kitchen I just can’t stop thinking about them. We’ve slowly been narrowing down the floor plan, size of an island we’ll build and recently we’ve been talking about building a banquette. After taking down the wall I’m cringing at the though of another giant mess this whole project will create but I think in the end it might just be worth it. Bryan on the other hand is not fully convinced that we should work on the kitchen next. I hear the outdoors and the lake calling his name. I might just take a sledgehammer to the kitchen myself soon and ask questions later

Here’s some of what has caught my eye as I was browsing through kitchen ideas.

This gray charcoal cabinets are gorgeous! I love the mat finish and stainless apron sink. Maybe charcoal gray base cabinets and white uppers would be a good combo to solve my need for both light and dark.

Charcoal Gray Cabinets and White Island (original source unknown)

I like the mix of dark cabinets and light island. That marble with the gray veining is perfection. I’ve tried to talk myself into marble countertops but just can’t get over the fact that one spilled glass of red Gatorade and they’d be done for.

After I go down the rabbit whole of gray kitchens I’ll find a perfectly gorgeous white kitchen I hear calling my name. That sea glass blue subway tile behind the cook top keeps calling my name. It would work perfectly with some of the colors I’ve already picked out for the space.

I need to have a window like that over my sink one day and orchids instead of dirty dishes flanking the sink. Ok scratch the idea of remodeling the kitchen I’m just going to move into the picture up above.

I also love the look of the gray cabinets. However, The potential problems with gray are that: 1) gray is HUGE right now, but will that still feel classic a few years from now? and 2) gray cabinets limit your counter top choices (which is one reason so many designer kitchens which use them have marble counters). And, if you look at your inspiration pics with gray cabinetry, wall colors are limited to white or a complementary shade of gray. White cabinetry has been around a lot longer. Anything will go with it (which can serve to make counter and wall decisions more overwhelming).

I hear your ambivalence about marble, which is shared by millions, evidenced by the number of hits when one googles for marble-look counters which are more impervious to every day life. I know etching will drive me nuts, so went with something else. Keep us posted, and remember it’s a lot easier to repaint cabinets (although who wants to have to do that?) than replace counter tops!

I don’t think there is anything better than a beautiful whit kitchen, but i feel like we are seeing a lot of them these days so i love the idea of going with a gray or even a bluish gray. I don’t think you can go wrong with either! Knowing your taste, I know no matter what you decide, it will look amazing!

Years ago I had a corian countertop installed called venaro gray. It looks so much like marble that people ask me if it is. I could not afford marble plus although I don’t mind “patina”, I was afraid over time I would have dirty looking instead. White or gray cabinets both look great to me. Check out that corian color. I have never tired of it.

Choosing between classic all white or colour is seriously tough – I know, I am there too. I think I am going to go with a pale blue/grey for the lowers and the uppers and pantry unit all white – with white board and batten on the walls so that the blue/gray cabinets look crisp against the white walls. Have you considered a sparkly white quart instead of marble? There are some seriously stunning options in white quartz and it is very durable (though still pricey). I am considering painting butcherblock white and using polycrylic on top. Absolutely crazy I know, but I read a tutorial about it… you never know:) Can’t wait to see what you do! We are doing ours in the fall – the yard and lake is calling my husband’s name at our house too:)
Krista

That sounds really pretty Krista. I love board and batten it’s such a classic look.

I love quartz, the only problem I have with it is the expense. We’re going to try and do this very cost effectively so quartz might not be in the budget this time around. So many decisions it’s making my head spin.

I never heard of painting butcher block. I’m sure it’ll look really cool. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

I didn’t see if anyone else suggested this..we are looking at building a lake house in Mn. The builder suggested concrete counter tops, cheaper than granite or marble and can be colored or have colored pieces of glass added. I goggled them and there is a variety. I worry about the trendiness of grey, a few years ago it was in, i bought a house in Va. and carpets, walls, tile were all pale grey. I have white cupboards there and have been changing out the gray tones as they are not happy colors.

Thanks for the suggestion Gayle, my neighbor was actually just talking about concrete counter tops too. I’ll have to look into it. I never thought of adding glass chips in. I think that could look really cool. Kitchens are definitely a tricky thing. They’re also so expensive that you want to make sure you’re not choosing something trendy that you’ll be sick of ina few years. Thanks for the suggestions

Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The text in your article seem to be running
off the screen in Firefox. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know.
The design and style look great though! Hope you get the issue
fixed soon. Many thanks

Instagram

Categories

Archive

Recent Posts

Follow Along

Looking for Something?

In addition to the sponsor section, Our Lake Life sometimes contains affiliate links. What this means is that if you make a purchase from one of these links Our Lake Life may receive a commission on the sale of the product. All of the content I share here is what I genuinely like and is not influenced by any other manner. By purchasing through Our Lake Life you are supporting the time it takes to bring you great ideas and products.